Chilcot’s Iraq war inquiry delivers damning verdict on Tony Blair

Former British prime minister Tony Blair took his country into a badly planned, woefully executed and legally questionable war in Iraq in 2003, according to the findings of a long-delayed inquiry into Britain’s role in the conflict.

Iraq Inquiry chairman John Chilcot presents the findings of his report at the QEII Centre in London

The Chilcot report found the decision to join the US-led invasion was taken before all other options had been exhausted and on the basis of false intelligence.

Blair faced particular criticism after pledging to support US president George W. Bush the year before the invasion “whatever” happened and failing to ensure “there was a flexible, realistic and fully resourced plan.”

Responding to the report in a short statement, Blair insisted he had acted in Britain’s “best interests”. Read More